The regional branches of the Board are currently organising the annual Yom Hashoah ceremonies in their respective centres around the country. Perhaps more than any other date on the Jewish communal calendar, Yom Hashoah is the day that brings together Jews from across the spectrum, from the strictly Orthodox to the fully secular and all those in between.

During the meeting earlier this month of the World Jewish Congress in Buenos Aires, delegates including representatives from the SAJBD attended‎ a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack there.

For a relatively small community, South African Jewry has always prided itself on punching above its weight, in the international as well as the local context. In both respects, last week was an especially noteworthy one.

“Israel Apartheid Week”, an annual anti-Israel hate fest masquerading as human rights activism, got underway this week. The Board, as on previous occasions, combined with the SAZF, SAUJS and other organisations in opposing it.

For the past decade and more, a global campaign has been underway aimed at boycotting the State of Israel at all levels, be it in the economic, diplomatic, cultural, academic or sporting spheres. Going under the name Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), it is modelled on the South African example, where international isolation played a key part in the downfall of the apartheid regime.